The Weekly Scroll for Feb. 9

News, tips and advice from the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society
Compiled and written by Quill and Scroll journalist Marni Wax

The Lede:

It’s not gonna happen in Indiana — this year

Indiana’s capitol building in Indianapolis. Photo courtesy Indiana state government.

New Voices legislation died in Indiana this week as the state’s House of Representatives defeated the anti-Hazelwood bill 47-45. Indiana was one of several states this spring who are vying to become the 14th (or 15th or 16th or …) state to pass a student free expression bill into law.

From one Iowa Hawkeye to another…GO YOU, ALEXI!

“For real though how soon are we getting a Stormi Lip Kit? (via Alexi Rabin).” That was the Kardashian Facebook post — along with a baby’s arm promoting lipstick — that overwhelmed journalism major Alexi Rabin and many others on the University of Iowa campus as she went VIRAL. Alexi is known to meet celebrities and carry a depth of personality as she does so. Check out how she appealed to the Kardashian/Jenner clan here.

Snapchat users are mad, but do they really care?

Snapchat released a new (and very unwanted) update full of new features and changes in the app this week including…stories are no longer ordered chronologically, you can’t rewatch stories right away, the friends section now has snaps, direct messages and group chats all in one. Go check out what else has changed.

Let the (Olympic) games begin!

With the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 here, brush up your knowledge of the sports! Stay prepared and let the competition commence!

It’s An Honor!:

Writing, Photo and Multimedia entries are in

Photo by Haley Anne Mahusay/Staley HS, Kansas City, Missouri

Quill and Scroll received more than 2,100 entries over 23 categories in the 2018 International Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest by the Feb. 6 deadline. Thanks to all our members and soon-to-be members for submitting entries.

All of the entries are now in the hands of our judges, who include more than a dozen professional journalists, a few JEA Carl Towley Award winners and several NSPA Pioneers. Judges have about three weeks to complete their task, at which point, Quill and Scroll will announce the Sweepstakes Winners (first-place in all 23 categories), Blue and Gold winners (the schools that achieve the best), and National Winners (first three places and honorable mentions).

As always, Quill and Scroll will honor the top 10 percent of entries in each category, so the early spring announcement of winners will include more than 200 students, all of whom will be eligible for Quill and Scroll scholarships.

Adviser scholarship applications open

Advisers in active Quill and Scroll chapters have until April 15 to apply for the Lester G. Benz Memorial Scholarship for College Journalism Study. All high school journalism teachers, and newspaper and yearbook advisers who have had at least six semester hours of journalism courses; a minimum of four years teaching experience and advising school publications; currently teaching a journalistic writing class; and a definite commitment to return to the high school classroom and publication advising next year to apply the information gained in the coursework taken as a result of this scholarship. The scholarship program’s objective is to identify and reward experienced journalism teachers and publication advisers (as defined above) who seek the opportunity to upgrade their journalism skills, teaching methodologies and advising techniques.

It’s that time of the year

If you’re at an active Quill and Scroll charter school, you are probably thinking about who’s going to be inducted into the honor society this spring. Some of you may already know the date, the time and the honorees. If you aren’t quite sure how this whole induction thing works, check out our Student Memberships page to learn more about the qualifications. Scroll down to see the various awards you can get to commemorate your induction.

We also have scripts for the induction ceremony if you do it with candles or sans candles. Both are pretty cool.

And, if you’re within a few hours of Iowa City, Quill and Scroll Executive Director just might be able to attend your ceremony and say a few words. Just send him an email and ask.

How do you Quill and Scroll?

Does anyone have any footage of their induction ceremonies? We would love to feature your students in a video. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

Quill and Scroll Yearbook Excellence Contest Winners

I can’t wait for the day that I pull out my yearbook and show my kids all the outstanding outfits and hairstyles their mom had at their age. However, my best friend from high school will be able to say that she won an award when showing hers! Will you or your friends share that same gift? Congratulations winners!

What’s Viral:

You and what army?

During the 2016 presidential campaign, tons of writers followed Donald Trump and his rallies all over country. Many of these writers would ask Trump fans  what was bothering them about America and why it needed to “be great again.” By far the most common reply was: too much political correctness…shocker.

Find out about why people are complaining about what they could no longer say what they really thought. Then social media became a factor.

I can see some marketing in your future.

This past year was a year on fire for the social media marketing world, especially for content creators (or influencers as many of you know). Video is HUGE now and the market’s biggest focus…which is perfect because our concentration is at a declining rate. That’s only one of many trends apparent this past year, but what should we be expecting in 2018? This infographic is a visual key for the 2018 social media marketing predictions and expectations.

Power means nothing, even for an abuser.

Look at the picture. The woman’s eye is distorted and clearly more than bruised, with blood pooling around broken capillaries. What is this you ask? It is a picture showing Colbie Holderness, one of two ex-wives who have accused senior White House aide Rob Porter of physically abusing them. Find out how Porter “defends himself” (not).

Just a Thought:

Local and staying vocal (in the newsroom).

Before checking out this article, I had no idea how much goes into successfully running your newsroom and the what it takes to circulate content through it.

“Who does it? Do you have a team? What’s the timeline? How do they reach people? How do they stay in touch after? What if no one comes?” There’s no single answer to any of these. Check out numerous, here.

Each platform tells its own story.

A few years later, the other social networks caught on and adopted the “Stories format”. See the infographic  in the link to see a further explanation. The infographic shows the timeline of the stories being implemented on each platform as well as data gathered in 2017…I know, interesting stuff (keep in mind a few of the user stats have changed over the past year).

Fake, fake, FAKE (and not only talking about news)!!!

Social networks have expanded popularity contests across generations, with the desire to become the next “Insta celebrity” or at least have enough followers to be an “influencer” (and come on, who doesn’t want to be an influencer???). Now anyone can buy popularity on their various social networks. Find out what happened regarding this in a New York Times investigation that  revealed the practice was widespread.